Babcock wins €795 million contract to support French Air Force training

Babcock France, part of the Babcock International Group, has been awarded a €795 million (US$811 million), 17-year contract by the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) to provide military air support for the French air, space and naval forces.

The contract will see students train on 22 new PC-7 MkX Pilatus aircraft and on 12 training simulators, before specialising as fighter or transport pilots.

It will also, reportedly, create 100 new roles in the Salon-de-Provence and Le Cannet-des-Maures regions which will help to deliver 11,000 flight training hours to around 120 students a year.

Babcock’s chief executive aviation & CEO France, Pierre Basquin, said: “The French Air and Space Force and French Navy play leading roles in national and international security. We are delighted to support our customer with their air-based training requirements, further enabling them to focus on delivering critical military aviation needs.

“This new long-term contract underpins our strong relationship with the French Air and Space Force and places us as its main capability support partner in fighter pilot training programs.”

Babcock France has been working alongside the French Air and Space force to provide training systems on its 26 PC-21 aircraft since 2018 at Cognac-Châteaubernard Air Base.

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